hey guys i have a 97 328i engine that is in excellent condtion and have found a nice 92 325i to purchase. The only thing thats wrong with the car is that it has 171,000 miles on it. I was wondering if the 328 engine i have would be easy to fit and swap into the 325. Will it almost bolt right in or do i need to fabricate anything.

Also, suspension wise, the 325 is coming with bilstein/ h&r set up so i dont really need to change the suspension.

Let me know cause im serious about getting the 325 if the swap will be easy to do and if it bolts right in.

Suspension sounds good...The swap will be simple fitment wise. Paying for it can be a little pricey. And like Dutch said, the difference in computers will make for a problem. You would have to swap EVERYTHING over, not just the engine. You need to do everything that the 328 engine came with as well. I assume you kept the engine after your accident? I think it would be a good move for you. How much you gonna get the 92 325 for?

What I'd be worried about is the non-vanos to vanos setup. I'm not quite sure if the wiring harness/ecu is effected by having a vanos engine in an originally non-vanos car. I'd look into that first or maybe someone else will know. mine worked fine because my 95 engine had vanos so no issues at all.

Your suspension as stated will be fine and the fitment is SUPER easy. I've done this swap as I call my 95 325 a 328i. I had to strip down the 2.8 to just the long block and then use all of my old 325i parts on it which worked great because I'm using the intake manifold which adds more power to the obd1 engines.

also you will need to weld shut both of your o2 sensor holes on the headers as you won't be using those anymore.

You will defiantly want to use the an obd1 wiring harness too. If you try to put in the 97 harness, you better have the EWS system for it or else it won't start.

Here's what I would do: Get a 93-95 wiring harness that had vanos, strip the 328 block down all the way, install with the wiring harness but before you do so, plug the un-needed o2 sensor holes, you will need to custom fab some sort of tubing that comes out of the raditor and into the engine as with obd1 cars and obd2 cars they're in completely different locations, BE VERY CAREFUL with the oil sending unit as they break easily if jarred, and you're set.

As for finding a later ECU and harness, which is a good idea (Bosh unit ending in 413), the EWS doesn't matter, as you can just disable it, by sniping a single wire (green) under the hood.

one thing I've learned about combining the OBDI and M52 powerplant, is fine tuning. Getting enough air and fuel to take advantage of the larger displacement takes a bit of work.

After helping the thing breathe better, I found that I didn't have enough fuel. So I added more fuel by installing a fully adjustable fuel regulator. The OBDI ECU provides for 43psi/fuel @idle whereas the M52 requires 51psi. This difference becomes more problematic as revs increase. So software must be made. A new ECU prom will be installed tomorrow and I hope this allows for full use of the mariage between the best of the e36 cars :wink

BTW jrhaile, why did you plug both o2 sensors? And did you have to relocate the oem fuel regulator

I know I'm nowhere near as technically sound as you two fine gentlemen when it comes to engine tuning and swapping...I didn't even think about the possibility of keeping the OBD-I system, which would be the best performance move ever... Wow I'm dumb for that one, my bad...but if he really wanted to, he could just swap over the works if thats all he wanted to do, including all the smaller components such as the computer, intake manifold, etc...correct? Just wondering...

that is true about the EWS system... I don't know where we put the fuel regulator, I think it's still in the same place. I plugged the obd2 o2 sensors because with an obd1 wiring harness those aren't used/needed. I pulled them out and sold them lol.

Also I'm still working with the fuel/air ratio as well. Let me know Jillipian which one you purchased because I know I'm missing some power with my car right now.

Originally posted by jrhaile@Dec 23 2004, 10:57 AMI don't know where we put the fuel regulator, I think it's still in the same place.* I plugged the obd2 o2 sensors because with an obd1 wiring harness those aren't used/needed.* I pulled them out and sold them lol.*

Also I'm still working with the fuel/air ratio as well.* Let me know Jillipian which one you purchased because I know I'm missing some power with my car right now.

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I'm confused. I thought that the OBDII used an O2 sensor before and after the cat, and the OBDI just used the one.

I'm finding this is no easy task to carry out. Got back from the dyno today, and took a step backwards. Installed new software from AA, and it's worse than stock. AA told me (as did triggerhappy) that I didn't need an adjustable regulator with the new software. I don't see where it matters and am running with a fully adjustable rising rate fuel pressure regulator from bavauto.com.

Funny thing is, I picked up 17ftlbs tq@3250RPM with the new software but lost 2ftlbs@peak. Same with hp. Weird. I would absolutely love to see a lambda chart on your car jrhaile.